


From The Moment You Wake Up

by Mansaeboysbe



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, F/M, Fluff, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Violence, Minor Character Death, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 10:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mansaeboysbe/pseuds/Mansaeboysbe
Summary: Based on a Soulmate AU where within a year of the younger half of a pairing turning 18, soulmates will switch bodies with one another. They have 24 hours in their soulmate’s life before being returned to their own. While in their soulmate’s body, a person is inhibited from mentioning their other life. They also cannot contact themselves in any way, however, people have figured out methods around this rule.





	1. Seungcheol

**Author's Note:**

> -Admin Bee

Seungcheol considered himself out of favor with the universe. He knew he’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime to pursue a career as a performer with some of his best friends, but that doesn’t mean fate doesn’t have it out for him. Take today, for example, when he woke up on a bus as a completely different person.

It wasn’t the noise that woke him but instead the jolting feeling you get when you have a dream about falling. He jumped, realizing he had just bumped the person sitting next to him. He apologized, disoriented by everything. He tried to remain calm, thinking about the last thing he could remember: falling asleep in the dorm. So he was either being kidnapped, or he switched bodies with his soulmate. Based on the professional pantsuit and the backpack resting against his leg, he decided to settle on the idea of having switched with his soulmate.

Don’t these things usually happen at night though? S. Coups thought to himself. He pondered this thought until the person in the seat next to him got up at one of the stops.

“You comin’?” he asked, looking down expectantly. S. Coups noticed that their briefcases sported the same business logo, and the bus had stopped in front of a building with the same name. He got up and followed the man off the bus and into the large office building.

The building was full of workers already forming lines to go into the elevators. He held back finding a spot near the wall to go through the backpack to try and find any form of identification. He was starting to feel frustrated when a young man came up beside him.

“Lose something, (Y/N)?” the man asked, taking a sip of his coffee. S. Coups started, almost losing his grip on the backpack.

“Just looking for my cell phone,” he lied pretending to rifle through more papers.

“Better do it upstairs, Jisoo won’t be happy if we’re late again.”

S. Coups swallowed, reluctantly shouldering the backpack and following the young man into one of the lines. The ID card around his neck introduced him as ‘Kim Jiho: Intern.’ He guessed that his soulmate was also an intern, and his suspicion was confirmed when they walked into one of the office units.

“(Y/N), the coffee pot is empty, please fill it!”

Jiho gave him a sympathetic smile and walked over to a small desk. S. Coups set his backpack down on a desk with (Y/N)’s name card and went to find the kitchen. Luckily, the coffeemaker was of simple design and it wasn’t difficult to figure out how to use. Still, he felt weird about having to make coffee while Jiho went into a presentation with some of the other office men. Once he had finished the task, he went back over to the place he’d set his backpack down and hoped someone would come to give him further instructions.

“Thank you for filling the coffee, dear,” a woman came and sat down beside him, setting her briefcase down and turning on the computer in one fluid motion. “I swear this whole office is caffeine-addicted.”

The woman began talking about a presentation for ‘the idea’, whatever that meant. He tried his best to pay attention to every detail but the woman was talking quickly and S. Coups was having a hard time keeping up.

“(Y/N), sweetheart, do please try to pay attention. I know it’s not the most interesting topic in the world but you are representing us later.”

“What?” He blinked.

“Oh dear, please tell me you haven’t forgotten.” There was a heavy pause and a sigh from the businesswoman, “The presentation later? The one all of the interns are leading and you’re in charge of our sector… have you paid attention at all this week?”

S. Coups feigned understanding, apologizing and only half lying by saying that he was out of it.

“Well snap back in, we need to get working.”

Once he paid attention, he caught onto the material easily. He found concentrating on the information easier when someone else’s job was on the line. Plus, marketing statistics were much easier to handle than twelve boys trying to learn choreography.

By lunch, he was prepared to give the presentation. They entered the presentation room soon after the break was over and everyone took their assigned seats. S. Coups couldn’t help but notice how predominately male the group was. Jiho was there, standing with the men from earlier with a folder in his hands. They shared a glance, but their silent conversation was interrupted by a demanding cough from the head of the table. The man nodded towards the interns to start the presentation.

Everything went smoothly up until S. Coups’ turn. It wasn’t that there was a technological error but rather the level of respect dropped when it was his turn to speak. He clicked to the first slide of his section and began to read off of the notes. That was when the murmuring started. The sound was low, and if it had been one person it wouldn’t have been much of a problem, but it was a trio of businessmen and they were unaware, or rather, unconcerned with being an interruption. Deciding against bringing attention to the trio, S. Coups tried to project more and continue with his slides. But the group’s attention was slipping away from him quickly. Soon only a select few were still paying attention; even the CEO was having a conversation with the man beside him.

“Excuse me,” S. Coups interrupted himself and set the notecards on the table. “Excuse me!”

This caught the attention of most of the group but it wasn’t enough for S. Coups. He marched over to the head of the table and placed himself in between the CEO and his conversation mate.

“We’re listening, sweetheart, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

The men in the room laughed and S. Coups felt something in his chest snap.

“You don’t have the right to talk to me like that.”

All laughter ceased and the CEO glared up at him.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, you don’t have the right to speak to me like that. It’s rude and disrespectful and I won’t stand for it.”

The other man stood from his chair, towering over his opposition.

“Go back to your presentation.”

S. Coups clenched his jaw. He knew that pushing any further could result in being sent home, fired, or worse. He tore his eyes away from the superior but refused to let his shoulders slump as he walked back to the front of the room. Begrudgingly he continued his portion of slides, pretending not to notice when the CEO boisterously laughed in his own conversation. After they were dismissed from the conference room, Jiho joined him at the intern desk.

“That was either really brave or really stupid.”

“How often does he treat interns like that?”

“It’s not really the interns,” Jiho trailed off, picking at a piece of tape on the desk. “It’s never bothered you before though, I’m surprised you picked today to start a fight.”

“Well maybe I realized it wasn’t right of him to treat me like that,” S. Coups shot back, earning a sideways glance from Jiho.

“What’s with you today?” He leaned closer, giving the office a glance over, “are you having… female issues?”

What was with everyone in this office? Clenching his jaw, S. Coups turned away from Jiho and set out to find the CEO’s office. He was going to do something else that was either brave or stupid.

He knocked on the heavy wooden door with pinpoint determination. A grunt from inside granted him entrance and he marched into the arena of the final battle.

The man was sitting at his desk but he wasn’t doing any work, given away by the lack of papers, writing utensils, any office supply for that matter.

“(Y/N),” he sat up, “is there something else you need?”

“I’d like to ask you and the other male workers to stop treating the women in this workplace with disrespect.”

“And how do you suggest I do that? Reprimand someone every time they hurt your feelings?”

“Not my feelings but it would help if treating all coworkers with the same level of respect was reinforced.”

“Listen, kitten,” he practically growled, “you’re only here temporarily. So why don’t you spend these last two months on my good side?”

“I’d rather spend my time at a different internship on your bad side than trying to suck up to you for two months.”

S. Coups turned away from the conversation, sealing his final statement in ink. He shouldered his backpack and went to find Jiho, who was in the kitchen, washing a mug. He looked startled when S. Coups forced the door open, the heavy wood hitting the wall with a resonating bang.

“Could you give me a ride home?”

Jiho didn’t ask any questions. Maybe he thought (Y/N) was on her period and didn’t want to push her any further, but S. Coups didn’t feel like answering any questions anyway.

He waited until they were in the car to pull out the cell phone he’d been looking for earlier, punching in the familiar number and bringing the device to his ear while avoiding Jiho's confused stare.

“Hello this is-” he fumbled with the ID around his neck, “(Y/N) (Y/L/N), I’m calling about the internship you have available. Monday? Yes, I can come in then. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“What was that about?” Jiho asked when you had ended the call.

“I’m going to intern for Pledis.”

“What?! How did you manage that?”

S. Coups smiled coyly. “I’ve got a great reference.”


	2. Jeonghan

At first, he thought Chan had come into his room and fallen asleep next to him. It wasn’t uncommon, the poor kid had a hard time sleeping during storms and Seungkwan had a habit of singing in his sleep after long rehearsals, so Jeonghan had come to accept that sometimes he would wake up with the maknae pressed to his side. However, this child was much smaller than Chan, and he was sleeping directly on top of Jeonghan’s chest.

“(Y/N), have you seen-” A woman had appeared in the room, still fastening an earring to her ear. She seemed rushed but her stature softened upon seeing Jeonghan and the small child snuggled together, “Oh good, he’s with you, I was afraid when I couldn’t find him in his crib.” She came over to the pair and pressed a kiss to the baby’s head and ruffled Jeonghan’s hair, “have fun at the zoo, Dad and I will be home around nine.”

Everything happened so fast, Jeonghan was barely able to process what was happening. The woman disappeared as quickly as she entered, and Jeonghan could hear the distinct groan of a garage opening and closing to let a car out. The child lying on his chest stirred, blinking open their eyes and letting out a big yawn for such a small being. Jeonghan smiled.

“Well, good morning,” he said, trying to readjust his position without disturbing the child too much.

“Morning, sissy,” the child replied, trying to snuggle down into Jeonghan’s shirt. He quickly assessed the situation: a child who he’d never met before was calling him ‘sissy,’ the bedroom he woke up in didn’t look familiar, and the woman who had come in early had called him (Y/N). Settling with the notion that he’d switched bodies with his soulmate, Jeonghan turned his attention back to the boy on his chest.

“Did you sleep well?” The young boy nodded and yawned again, “How about we get up and get ready for the day?”

After some convincing, the two were up and in the bathroom getting ready. They brushed their teeth together, they combed their hair, they washed their face, and Jeonghan helped the boy pick out his clothes for the day.

Once they were washed and dressed, Jeonghan found the kitchen and started to look through the cupboards to see what they could have for breakfast. The pair agreed on cereal, so Jeonghan got a big bowl and a kid’s bowl down and filled them with their breakfast, being careful not to fill the child’s bowl too much so he didn’t spill everywhere. When he put back the milk, a drawing taped to the refrigerator caught his eye. It was a drawing of four people, all labeled above their heads in thick crayon. The name above the smallest figure was “Taemin” and Jeonghan assumed that was (Y/N)’s younger brother.

“Sissy,” Taemin looked up from his bowl, “are we going to the zoo?”

Ah, right, her mother had wished them to have fun at the zoo before she left. He had seen a flyer on the fridge for the attraction. He wasn’t sure where it was, much less how to get them there, but the boy was blinking at him with pleading eyes and he couldn’t last long under that stare.

“Sure, we can leave after breakfast.”

Taemin giggled and pounced on his cereal again, leaving Jeonghan to laugh at how he’d almost made a mess all over the table.

Luckily the bus stop wasn’t too far from her house and there was a stop close to the zoo. Jeonghan tightened his grip on the bag on his shoulder- he packed everything he thought they might need- and readjusted Taemin in his arms as they walked up to the ticket booth. He bought two tickets and a carousel pass and then they were inside the entrance.

Their first stop was the beaver exhibit, a little habitat just inside the entrance. Taemin stared as the creatures dived under the water and swam up right against the glass, pressing his small hands to the surface like he could touch the creatures. He didn’t want to move on to the next exhibit but Jeonghan was able to convince him with the promise of seeing bears if they kept walking. He got really excited at the mention of the bears.

Next, they went into a building that functioned as the desert climate. They walked along the sandy path and Taemin was very cooperative until they got to the duck pond. He really wanted to jump in and swim but Jeonghan was able to hold him back.

“Aw, but I wanted to play!” Taemin whined, sticking out his bottom lip.

Jeonghan laughed, “Tae, we can’t play with the ducks, only the zookeepers can do that.”

“Sissy, how do I become a zookeeper?”

“We can ask a real one later, I bet they would be glad to tell you.”

Taemin was satisfied with that answer and became distracted by the Fennec Foxes that had come up on their right. Jeonghan made sure to remember to ask a worker later who seemed willing to explain their job to a toddler.

After they exited the desert building, they made their way over to the opposite climate: the Arctic building. Taemin didn’t like the penguins very much; he thought that they were loud and smelled like fish. He crinkled his nose up in disgust whenever they passed an exhibit, but he seemed thrilled to come upon the polar bears. His eyes lit up and he started to cheer when they turned the corner and were greeted by the large bear swimming in the water at the end of the enclosure.

“Taemin, do you know what that is?” Jeonghan asked, picking the child up and placing him on his shoulders so he could get a better look. There weren’t many people in the hall with them, but Jeonghan knew Taemin would be able to see more if he was above the waterline of the enclosure.

“It’s a bear!” He happily replied, squealing as he was sitting higher up. He pressed his hands to the glass and gazed in at the large animal.

“What kind of bear?”

Taemin was quiet in contemplation, “a furry bear?”

Jeonghan couldn’t help but laugh, “it’s a polar bear, it’s different from a regular bear.”

“Why?”

“It lives at a pole, like the North Pole. It’s really cold there so it’s the only bear that lives there.”

Taemin gave another squeal of delight. He was starting to squirm so Jeonghan set him down again and they continued their adventure, hand in small hand.

They made their way through the jungle zone and spent time watching the monkeys swing around and play with the cardboard in their enclosure. Taemin was fascinated with all of the exotic birds and fish they saw, sometimes trying to copy the sounds and movements they were making.

They stopped to eat lunch before continuing onto the most exciting part of the zoo for Taemin: the forest zone. They sat at a small table outside that overlooked the giraffe enclosure and munched on sandwiches that (Y/N)’s mom had left in the fridge at home for them. Taemin was unusually quiet, but Jeonghan figured he was tired from all the excitement and possibly anticipating the next zoo animals they were going to see. 

Just then, the cell phone in his bag began to ring. Jeonghan set down his lunch and retrieved the phone, seeing that it was (Y/N)’s mom. He turned towards the giraffes to hear better over the crowd noise.

“Hello?”

“Hi, (Y/N), how’s the zoo?”

“It’s been really fun,” he replied, “there’s a lot of people but we’ve still been able to see the animals.”  
“How has Taemin been?” She asked.

“He’s been great, we’re eating lunch now before going to see the bears,” Jeonghan turned back towards the table to see Taemin’s reaction, but his seat was empty. Panic took hold of his mind and he began to frantically look around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the child in the crowd. He almost missed the motherly voice in his ear that seemed to taunt him now.

“Oh, he’ll be so excited, have fun, sweetheart.”

“Bye mom,” Jeonghan hurriedly ended the call and shoved the phone back in his bag, quickly throwing away the leftovers of their lunch. He scanned the crowd again but finding a small child in this crowd was proving to be near impossible. He asked other adults in the area but no one had seen Taemin. He was suddenly hit with the idea to go in the direction of the bears, hoping Taemin had only run off in hopes of seeing the animal faster.

He was out of breath when he arrived at the bear exhibit, having run the whole way to the forest area. His eyes darted around the room as he searched for the boy, his attention landing on a worker and a child standing near the forest information center.

“Taemin!” He cried out, causing everyone to turn towards him. He ducked through the crowd and crouched on the ground to catch the young boy in a hug. Taemin had been crying, but his small face was starting to uncrumple once he was safely wrapped up in his sister’s/sister’s soulmate’s arms.

“See buddy, I told you we’d find her.” The worker said, crouching next to him.

“Thank you so much,” Jeonghan sighed, still out of breath.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m guessing he really wanted to see the bears when he wandered away from you. And he found them!” She laughed.

“Sissy, we talked about bears and how I can play with the animals! Look, I got a badge!” He pulled away to show Jeonghan the shiny sticker on his shirt that announced he was a Junior Zookeeper.

“Great job, Taemin, but you shouldn’t run away.”

“I’m sorry,” the boy said, burying his head into Jeonghan’s shirt.

“Just don’t do it again, okay?”

Taemin agreed and Jeonghan thanked the worker again. She waved goodbye to Taemin and he roared at her, something Jeonghan hoped was a thing they’d come up with before he found them and not Taemin growling at strangers.

“Do you still want to go on the carousel?” Jeonghan asked as they walked towards the exit. Taemin began to jump up and down and tug at his hand, pulling them towards the ride.

They gave the man their ticket and boarded the ride, Jeonghan holding Taemin so he could see the animals he could pick from. He settled on a fierce tiger that was molded to be mid-jump, though he expressed numerous times that he would have preferred to ride a bear if it was available.

“I think we’ve had enough fun dealing with bears today already,” Jeonghan settled Taemin on the tiger’s back and took his place standing next to him, wrapping a protective arm around his body as a seat belt of sorts. Taemin squirmed eagerly in his seat, impatient for the ride to start. Once everyone in line got on, the music started and the animals creaked to life, beginning their circular journey.

“Today has been fun, don’t you think Taemin?” Jeonghan turned to look down at the boy. He’d fallen asleep sitting up, laying back against Jeonghan and using him as a pillow. Jeonghan smiled, ruffling the boy's hair and pulling him closer. After today, he knew he wanted to spend more time hanging out with (Y/N)’s little brother.


	3. Joshua

Back before they debuted, Joshua admittedly fell asleep in some weird places. There were times during practice that the floor of the studio became the perfect place to sleep, as well as benches, cars, waiting rooms, he even napped on a sidewalk with Jihoon and Chan during a photoshoot. But this, this might have been the weirdest place he’d woken up.

His shoulder was being shaken when he opened his eyes and he recognized English being mumbled from above him. He remembered sitting down and feeling drowsy after practice but he didn’t remember lying down in the bathroom.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N), I wanna leave.”

A girl’s unfocused gaze was on his, a hand still gripping his arm. The sky was dark outside the window but the house was alive with movement. He could practically feel the bass through the porcelain tub he was curled up in.

“Wha…” he attempted.

“C’mon, sleepyhead, out of the tub.”

The girl hooked her hands under his arms and lifted him almost effortlessly for someone who looked like their balance was faltering. There was some stumbling on both of their parts but soon he was standing and a black bag was being slung over his shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

He’d managed to glance into the mirror before being pulled into the hallway, confirming the suspicion that sat heavy in his stomach. The party was still going strong, inside and outside of the house. It had taken a lot of shoving and squeezing to push past the horde of drunk and hungover bodies but they managed. The girl held tightly to his wrist, not letting go until she had dragged them over to a car waiting on the side of the street.

“Is it safe for you to drive?” Joshua asked. The girl snorted, rolling her head back in laughter.

“No, silly, I’m drunk off my ass. That’s why you’re the designated driver,” she slid a finger under the paper band on his wrist and tugged, “Unless you broke your promise and we have to walk.”

Joshua had no way of knowing if she had drunk anything at this party, but he felt stable and his mouth didn’t taste like alcohol… did soulmates switch tastebuds too?

“Alright, alright, we can go.” He pulled himself out of the girl’s bouncing grasp and unlocked the car. He silently thanked his dad for teaching him how to drive or they would have had a long walk home, wherever home was.

“Let’s not go home yet.” The girl suggested when Joshua started the car.

“I thought that was why we left?” He replied, a hint of amusement sinking through his smile. 

“No, I definitely need food.” The clock on the dashboard announced that it was 6 am.

“Alright,” Joshua complied, “where can we go at this hour?”

“Tacos.”

“That really helps.”

“Just start driving, I know a place.”

He shrugged, knowing he wasn’t any worse off since he didn’t know where to drive in the first place. The girl called out directions and they only got lost twice, which was pretty good for a pair made up of a drunk girl and a boy not in his own body.

The residential area around them melted into the coastline. She instructed him to pull into a small parking lot near the pier.

“You’re a mess,” Joshua commented when the girl had thrown open the door and fallen out of the car, laughing the whole time.

“At least I have an excuse,” she refuted with her tongue sticking out. He was taken back by her sass and she took the opportunity to skip, well, more stumbled, towards a small restaurant on the boardwalk. He joined her at the outdoor counter, the smell of frying meat and corn drawing him in. The building was small but already busy this early in the morning. The chalk menus displayed the names of popular Mexican dishes, but the girl seemed to already know what she wanted. A girl who looked about their age was at the counter, looking up from her phone when they stepped up to the window.

“Good morning, Kassie, (Y/N), you’re here early.”

“Morning, Isabella, you’re a saint for being open this early.”

“Rough night?”

“Finals,” Kassie lied easily, her voice much more steady than in the car.

Isabella didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t say anything as she pulled out an order pad.

“What’ll it be?”  
“Six chicken tacos, please.”

Joshua whipped his head around to stare at Kassie, but she rolled her eyes at him.

“Three are for you, don’t look at me in that tone.”

Isabella laughed and took the order down. Kassie paid for the food and made conversation with Isabella while they waited, Joshua floating in and out of the conversation but never paying enough attention to follow along. A man came forward from the back with the tacos in a plastic container and Kassie took them gratefully, wishing them a goodbye and trotting off towards the beach, Joshua following behind her.

Kassie picked out a spot on the beach and threw herself down, giggling as she was partially buried in the sand. Joshua carefully took off his shoes and let his toes sink into the material, sighing contently. He carefully lowered himself next to the drunk girl, who was still rolling around on the ground.

“Are you going to eat your tacos or are you content rolling around like a hermit crab?”

“Hermit crabs don’t roll, excuse you.” Kassie sat up nonetheless, shaking the sand from her hair and clothing. She mumbled a ’sorry’ for throwing sand onto his lap, reaching across to retrieve her prized tacos.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. The sun was beginning to rise over the water and casting an orange glow across their makeshift picnic.

“I’m dropping out to become a prostitute.”

Joshua choked on his taco, looking over to her in shock. She fell back in laughter, almost spilling her taco.

“I can’t believe that actually got you.”

“Shut up and eat your taco,” Joshua grumbled, burying his toes further into the sand. She shrugged and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

“I mention it, though,” she continued in seriousness, “because finals are going to kill me.”

Joshua only nodded, hoping she would continue without his interjection.

“Look at you, how are you so calm, Miss Law Student? I wouldn’t have blamed you if you wanted to get drunk tonight.” She looked over at him, “Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t drink. But still.”

“What about finals is bothering you, specifically?”

She shrugged, “There’s just so much riding on my success. I don’t want to prepare this much just to fail, cause then what would it all be for?”

“But just because failure is a possibility doesn’t mean you should give up,” he wiped his hands off on his legs, “If you give up every time something gets difficult, you’ll never achieve anything.”

“I’m guessing you’ve been in the same situation before?” She smiled.

“Well,” he contemplated, “I’ve had to deal with something similar.” She was watching him expectantly so he continued, “There was a time when I was working-” he was dangerously close to the universal limit of talking about his real life, “with a group and we were promised rewards for working hard. Well, we got them, but they were taken away right before we finished the… project.

“You see, we could have given up, but then two years of work would have become completely meaningless. So, instead, we just worked harder. And it paid off.”

“You made that sound cryptic… but it still helped,” She didn’t look completely convinced but the defeated slump in her posture gave way to relief, “thank you.”

They sat in silence, watching the sun rise further from the horizon. The sky was hopeful in its shades of pink melting into orange, blue just only starting to make itself clear. Joshua loved the beach but he couldn’t remember the last time he got the chance to just sit and enjoy it: the soft sand underneath his fingers, the cool breeze dancing over his skin, the waves rolling onto the beach and retreating in soft rhythm. It was over all too soon when Kassie stood.

“We should probably get going, I have a class at three that I would like to try and be sober for.”

They stood and collected their trash, making their way back to the car. Joshua couldn’t help but look back over his shoulder at the sun that was now halfway risen, feeling a longing to go back and sit on the beach for just another hour or two. He hoped his soulmate was doing alright in his place, though practice was over for the day when he went to sleep.

“How come that was the first time I’ve heard that story? We’ve known each other for three years.” Her voice pulled his attention away from the beach.

“Probably just never brought it up,” he shrugged.

They had almost made it to the car when Kassie managed to lose her balance due to uncontrollable giggles. She fell against the hood, laughing at her own failure to function.

“Let’s get you home,” Joshua laughed, “you are going to have one hell of a hangover when you wake up.”


	4. Jun

You had dreamed of being a dancer since you were a child. While some girls dreamed of being ballerinas when they were young, took one class and realized it was too much work, you lived for the sport. At the young age of ten, you were always eager to go to dance practice, sliding on your jazz/tap/ballet/tennis shoes and warming up to your favorite songs hours before practice actually started. You asked for lessons for every gift-receiving holiday and begged your mom to help you scout out the best studio. You found a home in a studio ten minutes from your house where they taught almost every type of dance, so basically, everything you had hoped for.

The hours you put into practice paid off. By thirteen you were one of the best dancers in all of your classes and a company even came and scouted out your dance group. You were given a callback, to no one’s surprise, and everything seemed to be falling into place when you made it into the final round of auditions.

But every action has a consequence, or so the doctors and the counselors and the physical therapists would come to tell you over the years.

You pushed yourself too hard, to put it simply. And as a result, you ended up with a spinal injury that left you wheelchair bound. Even with surgery and physical therapy, it was difficult for you to stand up for long periods of time, much less carry out a dance step. So you watched from the sidelines as your dream continued without you, taking with it your hope and plans for the future.

Needless to say, you were shocked when you woke up and could feel your legs. You double, triple checked because you were afraid you were being delusional again: there was sometimes a tingling in your numbed legs that would become so strong you swore you could feel them.

Ever so carefully, you peel back the covers and stare down at your limbs. You were a tad disappointed when you realized that it wasn’t that your legs had decided to work, rather your soulmate had working legs already and you had switched for the day. But still, a small glimmer of hope flickered in your chest at the possibilities for the day.

Your thoughts were interrupted as someone swung open the door to the bedroom.

“Jun-hyung did you-” he caught sight of you staring at your legs and swerved away from their original question, “what are you doing?”

You shrugged, carefully folding up the legs stretched in front of you so you could rest your hands on your knees.

“Doesn’t matter. Did you figure out the rest of the choreography for My I? Hoshi said he wants to “see it soon,” which means today in his mind,” you could see the way he rolled his eyes from your seat on the bed, “I don’t think he realizes that not everyone is a dancing prodigy like he thinks he is.”

“We get to go dance?” The question slipped out before you had time to asses how silly the question probably sounded. At least, the boy in the doorway seemed to think so.

“Uh, yeah?” He phrased it like a question, finally coming into the room and letting the door slide closed behind him, “Are you feeling alright? You look kind of pale.”

“Fine,” you answered, shifting underneath his gaze as he walked closer towards you. He placed a tentative hand against your forehead, forehead creasing.

“You feel really warm, are you sure you’re okay?” Something shifted in his face, “Oh my gosh, did you switch?”

You’ve never been a great actor so the look you tried to pass off as exasperation gave away everything. You shivered at the chilling sensation that shot down your spine, the result of being found out causing you to physically shake. He quickly retracted his hand and took a step away from the bed like he’d just invaded your personal space, swallowing as he kept his eyes on yours.

“I’m sorry, I-I didn’t know,” he approached again with caution, “I’m Minghao, I’m Jun’s friend, that’s who, uh,” he gestured towards you and he realized he meant your soulmate.

“Who I possessed?” You asked, trying to lighten the mood. You could feel the muscles in your legs start to cramp, so you carefully rearranged them on the bed.

“What are you doing?” Minghao asked, noticing your cautionary movement and how they seemed to splay randomly on the comforter in front of you.

“Ah, well, I… I’m not used to using them.”

He laughed, finally relaxing, “Let me guess, Jun here is an actual giraffe, so you’re not used to the extra long limbs?”

“Not quite,” you said, choosing to look at the blanket instead of him, “I haven’t had legs in a long time, so it’s taking some adjusting”  
“What!” The exclamation drove you to look back over to Minghao, who was staring at you wide-eyed, “I’m sorry, but did you… was there an accident?” The poor child was dumbstruck.

Now it was your turn to laugh, “Oh dear, that’s not what I meant. I still have legs, I just can’t use them because of a spinal injury. I usually have to move them manually, so it’s been weird to move them all on their own.”

“Thank god, I thought you meant you only had legs sometimes.”

“Like prosthetics?” You crossed your arms defensively.

“I just meant… I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”

“I’ll say.”

Minghao cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair nervously, “I guess Hoshi is going to have to wait on that choreography, I don’t suppose you have his memories, do you?”

You shook your head but were quick to jump back on the idea.

“Could we still go dance?”

Minghao gave you a curious smile, “do you like dancing?”

“I haven’t been able to dance recently, you know, with the temporary legs and all,” you teased. Minghao winced in response.

“It wouldn’t hurt if we used today as a practice day, what’s your style?”

You felt an easy smile slip onto your face as you began to reel off everything you danced before your accident. A slight sense of pride bloomed in your chest as Minghao’s jaw dropped with every name you listed, sometimes adding small comments to particular styles he was also interested in. Eventually, he had to cut your dance conversation short, promising that if you could manage to get ready, you both could go to the studio to dance again. You agreed, but a small realization had you calling him back into the room.

“I… I don’t think I can get up.”

It took some getting used to, but with his help, you were doing something that you hadn’t done in four years: stood. Your first steps were sloppy, not because of Jun’s legs but because your brain had forgotten how. The rest was easy after that: getting dressed, getting in the car, going up the stairs to the dance studio. You could feel the excitement bubbling in your chest when Minghao set the music up, asking you what song you wanted to dance to first.

And your answer came easily.

Because as much as you hated to admit it, you had been waiting to dance to Highlight since it came out.

And now, with your chest raised in anticipation and your legs strong underneath you, waiting for the music to start, you could finally have that opportunity. Even if it was just for a day.


	5. Soonyoung

If it hadn’t been for the energy that was already coursing through your body right after waking up or the unfamiliar pull in your muscles, nothing would seem out of place. But the slight tremble underneath your skin was unusual, especially when it was early in the morning and you didn’t sleep well the night before. Not to mention that all you had done yesterday exercise-wise was run up a flight of stairs because you were late to class and that wasn’t an exception considering that was something you did almost four times a week. Giving up on the prospect of going back to sleep due to the fact that you felt like you were actually buzzing, you rolled over onto your stomach and reached for your phone. It was only then you realized that everything was different.

“It’s only been two weeks,” you thought out loud, “but that would explain the sudden energy burst.”

Just as you were beginning to adjust to being a different person, the door to the room opened and light spilled in from the hallway.

“Hey, Hoshi, time to get up,” a boy was softly shaking your shoulder, “we let you sleep as long as possible.”

You sat up slowly, groaning as the ache that pulled at your muscles intensified.

“Feeling any better?” The boy had sat next to you on the bed and reached out, beginning to rub your back soothingly.

“Why do my muscles hurt so much?”

“Geez, Hoshi, you said the choreography was going to be difficult but now I’m nervous.”

He laughed, reaching under the pillow. He pulled out the phone you had been looking for and started an upbeat song, something by SHINee if you weren’t mistaken. After picking the song, he set the phone back down and got up.

“Try to get dressed quickly, Jun and Chan stayed behind but the other boys already left for the studio.”

When you were alone, your focus went entirely to the device blasting music. Luckily, you were able to unlock his phone since the thumbprint still matched. You first went looking in his gallery, trying to find photographic evidence of what he normally wore to try and blend in. The two most recent entries were videos, which you decided to save for later. Thankfully, Hoshi took a lot of selcas and you were able to find a casual outfit from one of the photos. You got ready as quickly as you were comfortable with. Checking yourself one last time in the mirror, you wandered out of the bedroom to find the other occupants of the house.

“Sleep well?” The bitter question came from a boy sat on the floor. Their attention had turned to you when you timidly entered the main room. You swallowed, looking towards the boy who had woken you up.

“Come off it, Jun, he’s not feeling well.”

Jun looked up from his phone at you. He seemed cold but something softened in his face when he saw your nervous posture.

“Sorry,” he sighed, getting up from the floor, “do you feel better than last night?”

“That was some headache. I don’t blame you for wanting to sleep in.” The boy who hadn’t spoken interjected.

“I’ll be okay, we can go.” You said, pulling the sleeves of your jacket over your hands. It was a nervous habit you had brought with you.

They exchanged a few glances between each other but nothing else was said as you exited the house and got into a car. You decided to watch the videos then. Hoshi was smiling at the screen when the video started and he practically bounced to the middle of the dance studio. Someone offscreen turned on the music and Hoshi’s entire personality changed in an instant, like turning on the music also flipped a switch in his mind. His dancing was incredible; he practically glided through every movement but with sharp certainty. Every move he made was calculated and you couldn’t help but notice how sharply he could isolate different parts of his body, especially when he did body rolls. There were pauses in the dance where he would stop to conduct small movements with his hands, but his focus never faltered. For the final move, he shot his arm up above him, bringing it down slowly to snake over his face, to his neck, to his chest as the music faded. At the sound of a few claps the professional composure came down and Hoshi was back to smiling as bright as the sun. With the rapid rise and fall of his chest, you could understand why your muscles were sore this morning.

“Watching yourself dance, Hoshi?” Jun said, causing you to duck your head to avoid blushing.

“What’s up with you today?” The boy sitting next to you had turned around defensively.

“Minghao,” Jun shot back, continuing his sentence in Chinese. You kept your head lowered as they continued speaking in the language you didn’t understand. It was then you realized the other boys were wearing workout clothing and carried water bottles in their hand. The pieces fell together after that: the dancing, the appropriate attire, everything pointed to your soulmate being a professional dancer. You felt your blood run cold when it occurred to you that you couldn’t dance, especially not as well as Hoshi could.

Your nerves followed you all the way up to the practice room. The boys had gathered in a small circle in the middle of the room, looking expectantly towards you. You gulped, hiding your shaking hands behind your back.

“Could you guys watch the video first? I’m still feeling a little off…” you tried to stall.

They mumbled a few ‘sures’ and Jun reached forward to take the phone from you. But when you went to pass it to him, he kept one hand wrapped around yours.

“We can start learning the dance off of the video, we won’t make you pretend to have Hoshi’s dance ability too.”

You looked up to meet his gaze with wide eyes. He smiled knowingly at you.

“What?” the shortest boy asked.

“C’mon, Chan, you didn’t notice?” Jun laughed, exchanging a look with Minghao.

“How did you figure it out?” Your hands retreated back into their sleeves.

“Hoshi was complaining about a really bad headache last night, but we passed it off as him staying late at the studio. He’s super critical of himself when he watches his dancing videos too, so the admirable smiling and blushing in the car was a giveaway,” all three of them laughed, “but truthfully, even when he’s sick, Hoshi loves to dance. That’s when I noticed, at least.”

You felt the pang of nerves revive. “But, I can’t dance…” you admitted, casting your eyes to the floor.

“Hey,” Minghao placed his hand on your shoulder, “he won’t care. He’ll probably try to teach you, actually.”

“Really?” Hope beat the nerves down.

“Really.” He smiled.

“He’s going to be so excited to meet you, he probably won’t quit talking about you for months,” Jun interjected. Everyone laughed.

“Thank you, really.” You acknowledge them individually.

“We should probably start learning this choreography. Hoshi may seem sweet but if he finds out we didn’t do anything today…” Chan distorted his face.

You gladly handed the phone to Jun this time.

“We won’t make you dance but you are in charge of music, okay?” Minghao asked, discarding his jacket. You nodded, going to take a seat on the floor against the mirror.

Your muscles ached but you couldn’t wait to meet Hoshi in person, in your own body this time


	6. Wonwoo

Used to waking up with three other boys in the room, Wonwoo immediately knew he was alone. He sat up rapidly, scanning his surroundings and finding nothing familiar. The house was quiet except for the rattling hum of a radiator coming from the corner. The blanket that was covering his legs was thin and scratchy and his pajama shorts were no better. He got up and examined the place he had woken up in.

The largest room in the house appeared to be the bedroom he had stepped out of. Sunlight attempted to come in from a small, grimy window, illuminating a small patch of the house. The walls were bare and the paint was peeling like wilted flower petals. A single couch sat in the middle of the room, sagging like everything else around it. Wonwoo advanced towards the only furnished side of the room where a clock, bookshelf, and a picture frame resided. He recognized a few titles as basic learning magazines, a young adult novel, and some financial textbooks. They all looked used and worn down. He picked up the young adult novel, opening it to where the bookmark was. The pages were full of handwritten notes, words circled in black ink and underlined purple. He carefully slid it back into its place.

He moved to the picture frame. In it was a girl standing with two adults behind her, a wide smile on all of their faces. The girl was holding up a blue ribbon proudly, showing off a wide grin with a tooth missing. Something in his chest stirred and he lifted his hand to the glass frame. He shifted his gaze from the picture to his reflection and the answer to his unasked question revealed itself.

In a sadistic way, he found it funny that the expression of her resting face matched his own. But he felt that the weight being carried by her wasn’t there by choice. He looked back to the girl in the picture, smiling from something as simple as winning a prize. He had to tear himself away from the frame.

An unfamiliar tone broke the silence of the small apartment. He walked back into the bedroom and bent to pick a small phone off of the ground. The contact was labeled as “Frank the SW” and he called back when the phone wasn’t answered the first time. Wonwoo rewarded his persistence by answering on the third call.

“(Y/N), are you alright?” a deep voice crackled from the small device.

“I think so,” he answered.

“Did something happen? Do you need a ride to school?”

Wonwoo had noted the time on the clock outside said 10 am, meaning school had started over an hour ago. Seeing as he had no idea where the school was, he managed a “yes, please.”

“Wow, ‘please’? That’s the first time I’ve heard that out of you,” Frank shot back, a throaty laugh following that. Wonwoo stayed silent.

“Alright, anyway, I’m on my way, just sit tight.” The tone of an ended call resonated in his ear.

There was a small box in the corner where he found an old school uniform. He changed, finding no mirror in the house upon searching and having to give his appearance his best guess. He was still struggling with the buttons on his blouse when there was a sharp knock at the door. He did them up quickly and opened the door.

The man on the other side was dressed like a professor.

“(Y/N), please at least try to look presentable, you have an interview with the superintendent today and your clothes have gone wayward.”

He moved to fix the buttons on the blouse and Wonwoo felt himself violently convulse backward, the muscles moving all on their own. He met the social worker’s eyes, who lowered his hands and swallowed.

“Please fix them before we get there.”

He grabbed a school bag off of the ground next to the door and passed it off to Wonwoo. They descended the stairs of the apartment building together, five flights of dust and falling apart railings. It wasn’t until they were in the car that Wonwoo had time to fidget with the buttons that he’d missed earlier.

“Your meeting is at noon, please be there on time.”

“Where?” His voice sounded smaller than usual.

“In the office, Ms. Jenny will come to get you from class.”

He just nodded, turning to stare out the window after fixing the last button. A large, brick building was coming into view and soon enough they were turning into the driveway. Frank parked the car, and they walked into the school together. Wonwoo had managed to find a class schedule crumpled at the bottom of the bag, so he only had a little trouble locating his first class.

“Glad you decided to join us,” The teacher said when he walked in late. The other students were already there in their desks. They turned to stare at him as he walked to the only empty one near the back of the room.

“As I was saying, who can tell me the significance of blood and death in Macbeth?”

No one in the class raised their hands. Wonwoo knew the answer. He debated whether he should try and participate to save everyone else from the expectant stare the teacher was scanning the room with. Slowly, he raised his hand.

“(Y/N)?” She sounded surprised, “well, if you want to give it a go.”

“It’s guilt,” he started, glancing around to see the other students staring at him, “blood is. It’s a constant reminder to the characters of who they’ve betrayed. And death is considered heroic in Shakespearean plays. All deaths on stage are honorable, in his mind, which is why two unworthy characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, are killed off stage. It goes for other plays of his too, like Ophelia in Hamlet. She dies offstage because she doesn’t die for a noble reason. Shakespeare felt that hearing of her death and seeing the aftermath was more impactful than watching the death itself.”

The room was silent. Everyone was either gaping or confused, including the teacher. Wonwoo sank into his chair more, seeing a few students glare in his direction.

“That… is true. Thank you, (Y/N), for the insightful analysis.”

He kept his head down for the rest of the class period. He tried to ignore the hushed whispers being passed around his desk, finding it a little harder to ignore the paper ball thrown at his head. He shot out of the room when the bell rang, pretending not to hear the teacher calling after him. He only stopped when someone grabbed his shoulder, pinning him to one of the lockers.

“You think you’re smart, bitch?” A boy was holding him, a wicked sneer painted across his face. Two other students behind the bully laughed.

“Do you read books now? Huh, slut? Who are you trying to impress? We all know who you really are.”

“Let. Me. Go,” Wonwoo spat, struggling against the other boy’s hold. This earned a laugh from the three of them, but a yell from down the hallway caused them to scatter. Wonwoo leaned back against the locker, rubbing the sore spot in his shoulder. The teacher who had yelled at the boys gave him a pitying look but at the sound of the bell, he retreated back into his classroom. Wonwoo stood, shouldering his bag and trying not to cringe.

“(Y/N)?” A separate voice called from the other end of the hallway. He turned to see a little, older woman standing there. She had a sweet smile. She waddled towards him, taking a hold of his arm gently.

“Mr. Peirson is waiting.”

She led him back to the front office and into a conference room in the back. Frank was already there with another man, a plethora of folders spread out in front of them. They looked up from their conversation when he entered, and Frank already looked worried.

“Hello Ms (Y/L/N), please, take a seat.” The older man said.

Wonwoo sat in the chair next to Frank, tucking his legs underneath him.

“Miss (Y/L/N), we’re here to talk about your grades in school. Last semester you made a promise to me that you would raise them, but you’ve made no improvements whatsoever. So we need to discuss consequences.”  
He slid one of the open folders over to Wonwoo, who didn’t need to lean in to see the bright red ‘f’s’ in almost every space.

“Sir, (Y/N) has been going through more stress than ever this past semester-” Frank jumped to her defense but the other man cut him off.

“I’m sorry Mr. Bax, but we’re running out of options. Right now, she’s facing expulsion.”

Wonwoo found it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the meeting. They tried to ask him questions but he knew he had no place making decisions for someone else, so he tried to give frustratingly vague responses. It seemed to work because Mr. Peirson adjourned the meeting without making any big decisions. After everything that had happened that day, Wonwoo sought out somewhere in the school where he could just sit and think. Or rather, not think. He found the library on the map and felt a sigh of relief pass through his lungs on entering the space.

“I’m sorry, the library is only available to students with an inclination to reading.” The student aide smirked towards him, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

Wonwoo stared at her for a moment, “Excuse me?”

“(Y/N), I know you’re not here to read, so please go find someone else to bother.”

“Listen,” he advanced towards the desk, forcing his palms down to lean towards the student, “I don’t know what your problem is with h-me,” his voice caught on the mistake, “but whatever it is, you don’t know a single thing about me.”

“Hey, I’m not looking for a fight.”

“Then don’t start one.”

He turned away from the desk, going to an empty couch in the corner between two bookshelves. Sitting, he sighed and lay his head in his hands. He didn’t know exactly what had been happening in her life, but the context clues were enough. He suddenly felt protective and frustrated, protective over a girl that he’d never met and frustrated because he didn’t know how to help her. He could only hope that spending one day outside of her current situation was a well-received break.

The bell rang for the end of the day, but Wonwoo wasn’t paying attention. It wasn’t until a librarian came and asked him to leave that he looked up and realized school had been over for an hour. He thanked her, sharing a smile when the librarian didn’t ask any questions.

The small apartment was within walking distance of the school. The bag on his back felt heavier than it had that morning but he persisted. It felt weird coming back to an empty house when he was used to twelve other people being there to greet him. Looking around the apartment, with all of its barrenness and leaks and cracks, Wonwoo knew what he had to do.


	7. Jihoon

You woke to the sunlight streaming in through the window beside you. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you suddenly remember that your room doesn’t face the sun in the morning. You carefully sat up and pushed the comforter off. Your heart gives a leap of anxiety as you realize that while this is not your bed, or your room, these are definitely not your pajamas or your legs for that matter. Mid-panic, you remember talking about soulmates with your friends, your mom… and you take in your surroundings again.

So this was your soulmate’s body. The two other beds in the room were empty but muffled laughs came from a room deeper in the house. You stood, noticing how you were about the same height as you were back in your real body, and walked out of the bedroom towards where the voices were coming from. You weren’t entirely sure how you were going to find him (yourself?) but his roommates would be a good start.

You stop short in the doorway. Twelve boys were sitting around a table eating breakfast. They didn’t notice you at first but one of the boys goes silent when he catches your eye. All at once, all conversation ceases as they all turn to stare at you.

“Jihoon hyung,” a boy was cautiously walking towards you, “were we being too loud?”

You looked around the room at the nervous faces, “No…?” You hesitated.

“Are you feeling okay?” Another taller boy had stepped forward, still grasping a bowl.

You went to explain how you weren’t actually ‘Jihoon’, but the words got stuck in your throat. Something was preventing you from saying anything, so you settled for an “I feel fine” with a reassuring smile.

Well, you thought it was reassuring. After you spoke, more nervous glances were exchanged through some of the boys.

“Maybe he’s stuck on Daylight Savings Time,” a boy wearing a bandana laughed, easing the tension in the room some.

“As long as I don’t have to wake him!” Another voice interjected, his eyes turning into half moons.

“I’m sorry, is something funny?” You ask, trying to swallow down some of your confusion.

“Jihoon,” a boy who was still laughing stepped forward and placed a firm hand on your shoulder, “you do know it’s 7 am, right?”

You blinked and as if right on cue, a large yawn overtook your body. You hid your face behind your sleeves to cover the yawn, scrunching your eyes in response. When you looked back up, the boy with his hand on your arm was frowning.

“So this is why he doesn’t get up in the morning, apparently he’s cute before noon!”

You turned sharply to see who had spoken. The assumed speaker flinched back as if anticipating an attack. You couldn’t help but giggle, feeling the influence of power in such a small form.

“Well, someone’s clearly not themselves today.”

The warm feeling in your chest turned cold. There was nothing wrong about the switch being revealed to other people, in fact, it was encouraged to help soulmates find each other. But something still cut like ice in your blood, like the universe was punishing you for being found out.

The daze was interrupted by a firm hand ruffling through your hair. You shrunk under the touch, curling in on yourself to fix the soft strands that were falling in your face. You shot a look at the perpetrator for good measure.

“Seeing as how you still have all of your limbs, Mingyu, I’m backing Jeonghan up on his statement.”

“In that case,” the boy who held your arm earlier turned back to you, “I’m Seungcheol. Sorry about the confusion earlier, Jihoon’s rarely up on his own, much less before at least ten.” You smiled, meeting eyes with the other boys as they introduced themselves. When they got through all twelve, Seungcheol stepped forward again.

“We have a day off today, so most of us are going out. You’re welcome to come with if you’d like.”  
The boys cleaned up their breakfast and dispersed into their rooms to get ready for the day. You hovered in the kitchen, hesitant to go anywhere else at risk of barging in on one of them changing. One of the boys, Jeonghan, passed by the kitchen and caught your eye, stopping in the doorway.

“Oh good, I was about to go looking for you,” he stepped forward and placed his hand on your shoulder, “Jihoon made something for you, he told me to show it to you when this happened.”

You could hardly contain the excitement that threatened to escape from your lungs in a laugh. Jeonghan showed you out of the kitchen and into a room off of the living room. It looked like a small recording studio, outfitted with two computers, a piano, and a desk where stacks of papers resided. He pulled the chair out for you, turning on one of the computers and loading a video file.

You sat carefully, watching Jeonghan put the video full screen. You were met with the paused image of a man looking into the camera, and while you hadn’t looked in a mirror that day, you knew the face on the screen was your soulmate’s. You couldn’t help but lean forward and place your fingers against the glass, right where his cheek was.

“I’ll lock the door behind me, he’d want you to watch it alone,” Jeonghan paused in the doorway, “Could I ask a quick favor?”

You turned away from the screen to look back at him and nod. He was smiling softly, his eyes glancing between you and the screen behind you. He came away from the door, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. You were a little confused but when you realized he just wanted to take a picture, you let the happiness that was manifesting under your skin shine through your smile. He checked the picture before leaving, turning it towards you.

“I don’t think we’ve ever gotten photographic evidence of him glowing like that, so thank you.”

You laughed shyly and tucked your hands into your lap, “Glad to help?”  
Jeonghan laughed too and went back to the door. He tucked a piece of hair behind his ear before adding a final “have fun” before leaving you alone in the room. You took a deep breath, steadying your hand over the mouse before clicking to play the video.

_“Alright, uh, hello,”_ Jihoon gave a small cough to clear his throat and you were already encapsulated, _“my name’s Jihoon, or uh, Woozi, if that’s how they introduced me. I’m going to assume you’re watching this because you’re my soulmate and not because Jeonghan decided to show this to everyone for some reason. And if that’s the case, Jeonghan, I’m coming to get you.”_

You failed to contain your smile this time, letting the grin slip past your lips.

_“Anyway, if you are my soulmate, I just wanted to say that,”_ he sighed, lowering his gaze to the lower part of the screen, _“I’m… I’m really excited to meet you. And I hope you feel the same. So, I wanted to play you a part of a song I’ve been working on. Depending on when we switch, you may have already heard this, but I hope you still enjoy it.”_

He fidgeted with his sleeves and turned his chair to the piano that was to his left. You felt yourself leaning towards the screen, resting your head in his hands as he began to play a soft melody. He opened his mouth to start singing and hit a wrong note. He cursed and sheepishly glanced towards the camera, but you weren’t offended. It made you giggle at how nervous he was. He took a deep breath and started over.

_“Just like the sky is high and the wind is cold_

_Like the ocean is wide and blue_

_I’m afraid that_

_I’ll take you for granted_

_I think that’s why I’m being like this_

_I’m nervous about that_

_What if I lose you?_

_I hope you don’t feel the same_

_Whenever, wherever_

_Even if we’re not together, just like always_

_Our smile flowers bloom_

_I’ll be the spring to your smile”_

His hands came to rest on the keys and it was then that you noticed the silent tears streaming down your cheeks. You wanted to clap and cheer for him but instead, you wrapped your arms around yourself, pretending that it was him you were hugging. Which, technically, it was.

He brought his hands to rest at his legs, looking back up into the camera with a small smile that you would come to know meant so much.

_“See you soon.”_


	8. Seokmin

He knew something was wrong when he woke up and the pressure in his abdomen became painful. DK groaned, the throbbing sensation building slowly as he was pulled out of sleep. The pain subsided momentarily, allowing him to take in the unfamiliar room in which he woke up in. The walls were a light shade of blue instead of white and it was much lighter than what he was used to waking up to. He pressed his palm to his stomach, feeling some relief and sighing. He turned his head on the pillow and a few strands of long hair fell into his face. Was he…?

His thought was interrupted at the sight of a small blue note folded on the bedside table. He went to retrieve it but another wave of pain washed over him, causing him to groan and curl into himself. He tried again after a moment, catching the note between his fingertips and bringing it to his face to read.

“If you’re reading this, congrats, we’re soulmates, but also my period’s starting/underway so have fun with that.”

As if on cue, the sharp stabbing returned. He curled his fingers tight around the note, trying to decide how to feel. He was obviously overjoyed to have a soulmate but did the universe hate them that much to switch them now? He pondered until the door to the bedroom opened and an older woman appeared in the doorway.

“(Y/N), your friends are at the door wanting to see you, can they come in?”

He swallowed and then gave a small nod. The woman disappeared down the hall and he pulled the blanket closer around him. She came back with three other girls behind her.

“Hey, you’re not even out of bed yet?” One of them asked.

“I don’t feel good,” he said meekly.

“Yeah, we know,” the girls laughed, “you told us all about it last night.”

“I did?”

They laughed again, “Get dressed, we’re taking you out for the day.”

DK tried to argue, but her friends were determined. After a minute of trying to convince them to go on without him, he gave in and agreed. They left to allow him to get ready.

He slowly approached the bathroom, trying to repress the nerves and embarrassment for what he knew he had to do. He had an older sister so it wasn’t like he was a stranger to this kind of thing, but it still felt like an invasion of her privacy. It wasn’t like this could be a mutual exchange; though, when he thought about it, he had taken the blow of period cramps for her and she had woken up without having to be in pain. This eased his nerves a little bit, but it was still a subject most girls didn’t even want to talk about, much less want to share the experience with someone they had never even met.

He found her supplies in a basket in the bathroom. He was relieved to find everything had instructions on it which were easy to follow, allowing him to get everything over with before he had time to feel embarrassed. He opted to dress in dark pants and a long shirt just in case anything happened.

The girls were happy to see him when he joined them in the living room, and if he had taken longer to get ready than usual, they didn’t say anything. They got into one car, DK being pushed into the middle seat. He wasn’t used to his shoulders being narrow so he was gladly surprised to be able to sit in the middle without being squished on either side.

They spent the car ride to breakfast laughing at inside jokes and telling stories that DK didn’t know the origins of. It was a lot of acting on his part, trying to laugh along at the right moments and appear like he knew exactly what they were talking about. He learned their names indirectly; Jia was driving the car, Haeun was sitting in the passenger’s seat and was the subject of most of their embarrassing stories, Mijin was sitting to his left and didn’t say much during the car ride, and Soojin sat to his right.

They were getting breakfast at a small cafe that DK had never been to. The inside was quaint and decorated like a typical coffeehouse; brick walls with picture frames hanging up, comfortable couches and low tables instead of booths, the usual. They ordered at the counter and found couches in the corner to eat their pastries and sip their drinks. DK was starting to settle in with the group, feeling less nervous around them and almost forgetting the nagging pain in his gut. That is until it decided to make itself known again.

When the aching became too much for him to handle around the girls, he excused himself to the bathroom. Leaning back against the door of the single bathroom, another wave crashed over his middle. He groaned and almost doubled over, the feeling from this morning still unfamiliar.

There was a knock on the door, and a voice called from the other side.

“(Y/N), are you okay?” Mijin’s voice was soft but comforting.

“I’m fine,” he managed to gasp.

“Okay,” she sounded skeptical, “do you have the blue note that was on the nightstand?”

He stood up and turned towards the door, forgetting all about the cramps. How did she know about the note? Carefully he opened the door to be met with her questioning gaze. He slid his hand into his pocket and retrieved the blue note that he had brought with him, passing it over to her.

“We joked about this happening but we didn’t think it actually would,” She laughed softly, stopping when he grimaced.

“Were you able to take care of everything this morning or…” she trailed off without going into detail. He nodded and pressed crossed arms into his abdomen to try and stop the cramps.

“I was doing okay but I’m not used to this kind of thing,” he sighed. Mijin reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of painkillers, placing two into his waiting hands.

“That should help some.”

After a few minutes the medicine kicked in and he was able to stand without feeling fatigued. She smiled at him and walked with him back to the table. The other girls stopped talking when they got back, looking worriedly between the pair. When Mijin filled them in on the situation, their expressions changed into understanding and some amusement. They didn’t dwell on the topic for too long and DK felt himself sigh in relief.

“Do you want us to take you home? We were going to go shopping after this but we’d completely understand if you didn’t want to go.” Haeun asked.

“Oh no, it’s fine,” he assured her, “I’m glad to come with. Truthfully, I wouldn’t know what to do if I was just sitting at home.”

She gave him a curious smile but didn’t say anything. Once everyone was done with breakfast, they got back in the car and headed to the mall. At first, DK sat back and let the four friends have fun trying on clothes and laughing together. They tried to include him, but he admittedly felt weird in the prospect of trying on clothes as someone else. There was one dress, though, that caught his eye. It was in the window of a store they were passing, and immediately DK knew that it was perfect for (Y/N). Mijin saw him stop and called after the other girls, all of them pulling him into the store against his protests. They agreed that she would love the dress but DK was disappointed because he couldn’t buy it for her.

“Here, let me,” Mijin stepped forward.

“Mijin, you don’t have to.”

“No,” she said, placing the dress on the checkout counter, “but I want to,” she paid and handed the bag to DK, “just pay me back when you’re back in your own body.”

After they finished shopping, they ate lunch in the food court and left the mall, heading to their favorite spa. They offered to take him home again, but DK figured it would be nice for his soulmate to come back feeling refreshed, so he went with them.

He’d never been to a proper spa day, but he knew that this wouldn’t be his last.

“Well, now you know what your default date can be,” Soojin giggled at his reaction to the facial, “she loves coming here too.”

On the drive back to (Y/N)’s house, the girls tried to ask DK as many questions as possible about his regular life. He tried to answer them as best as he could, skirting around the barrier that prevented soulmates from mentioning their regular lives outside of their own bodies.

“You seem like a really nice guy,” Jia said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror, “we’ll make sure she takes care of herself until you two can meet in person.”

“I’m not worried, she’s got an incredible group of friends.” DK smiled back.

“Yeah, well,” Mijin giggled and placed a hand on his shoulder, “she’s got a pretty incredible soulmate too.”


	9. Mingyu

You already knew something was different when you woke up and your feet were cold and uncovered by the blanket. You tried to burrito yourself and return to sleeping but somehow the blanket had shrunk overnight, or you had gotten taller. But the only way you could have gotten that much taller was…

The realization struck you so fast you jolted and banged your head on the wall beside you. God, why did your soulmate have to be a literal tree? You rubbed the spot on the side of your temple, sitting up on your elbows and hoping the pain would subside before you switched back that evening.

Someone in the bed next to yours laughed, apparently woken up by the sudden clank of skull against plaster and finding it amusing.

“Nice going, Mingyu. You probably just woke up the whole house.”

You grumble incoherently and the other guy laughs again but this time the sound resonates with you. His laughter sounds so familiar… wait, did he call you Mingyu? Your thoughts are rushing as fast as your heart when you jump out of bed and stumble into the hall, finding an empty bathroom at the end. You pull yourself in front of the mirror and confirm your suspicions.

The same face that you’ve ever only seen through a computer screen is staring back at you in the mirror. You can hardly contain the squeal that threatens to pull itself from your heart, throwing your hands in front of your face as a barrier. You’re happily staring into your reflection when suddenly a creeping thought comes to mind: when was the last time Mingyu sneezed into his hands?

You lower them away from your face and throw on the tap, desperately aware of how gross you feel at the moment. You rub the bar of soap between your hands several times, scrubbing away at the skin until you feel more secure. As your starting to wash the soap off, you see Wonwoo in the mirror walking towards you.

He stops short outside of the door, giving your hands a quizzical look. You don’t respond, just wash the remaining suds off and grab a clean towel to dry them clean. He doesn’t say anything when you turn to face him so you decide to take action while you have the power.

“I need you to help me disinfect every surface that I’ve ever touched.”

He looks confused but the determination in your eyes this early in the morning is enough to convince him to help. You follow him into the dorm's kitchen, taking some of the cleaning supplies as he pulls them from under the sink. A few of the other boys come into the kitchen. You duck your head to hide the blush that’s creeping up your neck because they’re still in their pajamas.

Wonwoo said something to Joshua but the water was running so it was hard to hear.

“Mingyu, what are you doing?”

“We’re cleaning, I’ve probably sneezed on everything in here.”

Hoshi laughed, grabbing a rag.

“Why the sudden change?” He asked.

“I-I just became aware of it?” You stuttered, swerving around him to start wiping down the drawer handles. Everywhere Mingyu could have previously touched, you were going to disinfect.

The boys slowly joined in until almost everyone (save for the few members who wouldn’t be woken by drawers slamming, water running, and vacuuming alike) was cleaning some part of the house. It took a couple of hours but soon the entire dorm was as shiny as the day they moved in.

“I think this is the cleanest these countertops have ever been,” Wonwoo swung an arm around your shoulders. After the adrenaline of needing to clean had worn off, you had become very aware of your current situation. Not only were you currently in the dorm of your favorite group, your soulmate just happened to be your bias wrecker. And you were in his body. And your former bias was standing five feet away from you. Still in his pajamas. It was a good day.

“Do you guys want breakfast? My treat for your help.” If Wonwoo had felt your heartbeat raise on your proposition, he didn’t say anything. You never thought you’d get the chance to make them breakfast.

“Usually I’d say no but assuming you’ll wash your hands today…” The8 laughed from his seat on the kitchen counter that he’d just finished cleaning.

“I’ll help,” DK offered, bringing Jun with him to start gathering ingredients.

“What do you guys usually have?” you asked while hovering in front of the fridge. Jun was scrounging through a pantry full of boxes, DK already setting pans on the stove.

“Seeing as it’s a special occasion, please make something outside of toast,” Hoshi whined from his seat on the floor. DK rolled his eyes and put the bread back in the cabinet.

“How about omelets?” You had always felt confident in your omelet making skills.

There was a glance of confusion between the boys around you.

“You’ve never had an omelet before?”

“And you have?”

“Boys,” you said, rolling up the sleeves of your nightshirt, “I’m about to change your life.”

You gave the task of cutting up the vegetables to DK and Jun and whipped the eggs yourself. You gave the boys the option of customizing their breakfast and made each to order, impressing them with your in-the-pan flipping abilities. Hoshi pleaded to flip his own and you were a sucker for his dark eyes, so you stepped away from the pan and let him have a go. He flipped it, sort of. It flipped but the seam came undone so some of the contents of the omelet spilled out. Hoshi was so proud of himself though, so you were sure he didn’t notice, or mind for that matter.

The other boys were up at this point, encouraged by the enthusiastic noise level coming from the kitchen. Their omelets were quickly made (despite Jihoon being very wary of how clean your hands actually were) and then you were being pushed aside by DK so he could make one for you, you ducking your head at the gesture so no one saw the dusting of pink that was creeping up your face.

When everyone had an omelet on their plate a circle was formed on the floor. They ate breakfast as a group, sharing stories and laughing at and with each other. You got numerous compliments on your cooking, each one adding color to your already blushing face.

“How did I end up with such an amazing soulmate?” You smiled, glancing around the circle. You were almost positive you would never get used to it.


	10. Minghao

He was woken by the sudden blaring of an unfamiliar ringtone. He groaned, turning onto his stomach and shoving a pillow over his head to try and block out the sound. Why anyone would be calling him this early in the morning, he had no clue and he planned on ignoring them until one of the other boys answered the phone or it went to voicemail. But between the persistent obnoxious ringtone and the sunlight pushing itself into his eyelids, Minghao pushed himself out of bed to answer the phone himself. He didn’t recognize the caller ID, even though it was marked as a known contact, but he answered it nonetheless.

“Oh, (Y/N), thank god,” a woman’s voice gasped from the other end, “the family who was going to adopt Pepperoni backed out, and unless we can get him adopted today, they’re going to put him down,” a sniffle, “I know it’s your day off, but we wanted to let you know so if you want to come in and be with him for the day, you’re completely welcome.”

Minghao tried to process what was happening. His mind was swimming in grogginess and disorientation: he had just noticed that the bedroom he was in was much smaller than his and the bedsheets were unfamiliar.

“I know how difficult this is for you, but please come down as soon as possible,” the woman was continuing, her voice wavering, “He’d want to spend his last day with you.”

The call ended with the woman holding back a choked sob and Minghao let the phone drop onto the comforter. He was still wildly confused but he’d understood enough of the call to know that he should get up. The caller ID from the phone call said it was from a contact named “Animal Shelter” and he felt his heart drop as he remembered the words he’d just heard.

 

Put down.

The reality of the situation cleared away the sleep that was still gripping to the edges of his mind and allowed him to get ready with a clear head. In another circumstance he would have taken his time to take in his soulmate’s apartment; what she wore, what she had in her fridge, how she went about their daily life. But for the sake of getting to the shelter faster, he went through a basic morning routine and dressed in whatever was easiest at the moment. A magnet on the fridge had the animal shelter’s address, so after drinking a glass of water and shoving a piece of bread in his mouth, Minghao left the apartment and headed to the shelter.

A woman greeted him at the front desk, a knowing, sad smile gracing her face upon seeing him. She let him through a set of doors labeled “Dogs” and back among several rows of kennels holding other dogs of all breeds and sizes. Each dog ran up to the door and wagged as they passed, and Minghao felt his heart sink even further as dread built up. There were so many dogs here and he just wanted to give them all a hug and provide them with a loving home, but he wasn’t even himself at the moment. And it was obvious that the managers would never let him bring a dog back to the dorm, much less a whole shelter of them.

He stopped beside the woman in front of a kennel on the side of the room. The glass door was decorated with foam letters spelling out “Pepperoni” and “I’m a good boy!” with small red dots bordering the edges. Inside the kennel was a large, white Samoyed curled up on a flat, blue blanket. He had his back to the two and his ears seemed to droop.

“Pepperoni, look who came to see you,” The woman’s voice was soft and gentle. The dog turned towards them and immediately jumped to life. He came up to the door and began to wiggle with sheer joy, his entire back shaking with his tail. Minghao didn’t know whether to laugh, or coo, or both, so he settled on being silent and simply crouching to be eye level with the giant dog. Pepperoni pushed his nose to the glass and panted.

“Here, move back so I can open the door.” Minghao complied and the woman unlocked the kennel, grabbing a harness from a hook on the front, “We opened the playroom for you two, no one else will bother you unless a family wants to see him.”

The samoyed sat calmly as the woman clipped the harness around his chest. He only jumped up when Minghao was given the leash, but even then he was still obedient as they walked to the playroom. He only slightly pulled forward and Minghao couldn’t understand why no one wanted this sweet dog.

The playroom was a wide area with a small sitting area in the corner and the rest filled with toys. When they got inside and the door was shut behind them, Minghao let Pepperoni off of his leash to run around. He took off at a lope, circling the room a few times with a single, happy bark before coming back and sitting at Minghao’s feet. They looked at each other, Pepperoni tilting his head as if to say, “can we play now?”

Picking up a ball that was resting near his feet, Minghao tossed it towards the end of the room and watched as Pepperoni took after it. He retrieved the ball, bringing it back just as quickly. They played catch until Minghao’s arm was tired and Pepperoni was becoming ornery. They sat on the floor together, Pepperoni’s head resting on Minghao’s leg and his fingers carding through the samoyed’s impossibly smooth fur. They both let out a sigh, one in contentment and the other in adherence. He kept turning towards the door, expecting the woman from the front desk to come in with a family.

But she came back alone.

She was carrying a set of bandanas in her hand, offering him one to tie around Pepperoni’s neck. Her voice shook as she tried to explain herself, but Minghao stopped her before she could mention the ever-present cloud that had surrounded his whole day. He could feel the time slipping between his fingers like water that he couldn’t hold.

“Why don’t you take him to the waiting room? He can have his special dinner in there with you, instead of in that kennel he’s all too used to.”

He let the woman lead him and Pepperoni, new blue bandana and all, to a room at the front of the shelter. They passed several families who were looking at the dogs, but outside of a few children wanting to pet the Samoyed, no one took special interest in Pepperoni. Minghao could feel the pinch in his stomach tighten but he tried to keep a bright face. If it wasn’t for himself, it was for Pepperoni.

The waiting room was larger than the playroom and more nicely furnished. There were shelves along the walls full of supplies to purchase and pet magazines on the end tables. It would have felt comforting, had the clock on the wall not been approaching the end of the day at such a rapid pace. Minghao took a seat on the floor, Pepperoni joining him.

“Here we go, a special dinner for a special boy,” the woman cooed as she opened the door, a heavy bowl in her hand. She came over to them and set it in front of Pepperoni, who slowly got up and examined the contents.

“What is it?” Minghao asked when the dog plunged his face into the bowl.

“A hamburger patty, some egg, and bit of cheese,” she admitted, shrugging, “Hamburger has always been his favorite, so we’re glad to comply.”

The sinking feeling was back. With each tick of the minute hand closer to 4 pm, the tension in the room grew heavier. Eventually, Minghao couldn’t stand the ache in his heart.

“No families have come and asked for him?” The woman shook her head and sniffled, wiping her sleeve over her cheeks.

“We haven’t had any luck in finding someone to adopt him.”

“Then I’ll do it,” He couldn’t believe how easily the words left his mouth.

“(Y/N), this isn’t just a rash decision, is it? This could be a lot of responsibility you’re not taking into consideration.”

He shook his head and placed a steady hand on Pepperoni’s back. He’d finished eating and was once again laying on Minghao, the top half of his heavy body using the boy’s legs as a support.

“I have to do this. For both of us.”


	11. Seungkwan

You welcomed the feeling of unfamiliarity as you woke up. Instead of nerves, you felt excitement upon realizing that the bed you were in wasn’t your own. To say you had been waiting for this day was an understatement; you had been preparing for this since your birthday three months ago, just in case you were the younger one in the pairing. You had spent hours coming up with notes about yourself and your contact information to help your soulmate find you after you switched back. But, of course, there was always something you hadn’t planned for.

You sighed happily, rubbing your eyes to erase any trace of sleep that stuck behind. A giggle escaped your chest and someone else in the room shifted in their bed. They said something, but it wasn’t in a language you understood.

“What?” You blurted before thinking.

They said something again but you still didn’t understand.

“I’m sorry,” you said, sitting up in the bed, “I don’t understand.”  
The other person lazily rolled over to face you but didn’t open their eyes.

“Oh, so you’re speaking in English today?” He asked, adding something else in the other language to the end of his statement.

“I don’t usually speak English?” You tried to keep the disappointment out of your voice, but you felt a pang of worry at the idea. So there would be a language barrier. That you hadn’t prepared for.

The man across from you repeated the phrase from before that you decided meant ‘why are you acting so strange?’

“Listen,” you said, stopping short of mentioning who you really were. You remember the restrictions and sighed heavily. “Let’s just speak English today, maybe I’ve gotten better and you never noticed.”

There was a rustling, and the other boy was sitting up.

“Has Joshua been giving you lessons?” He asks, and you thought he almost looked a little hurt.

“No, uh, I just picked it up, I guess?” You stumbled over the excuse.

Disbelief flashed over his face, and then he was swinging himself out of the bed and coming over to yours to take you by the wrist. You allowed yourself to be pulled along behind him out of your bedroom and into an adjacent one. He went up to one of the beds that was still occupied and started tapping the occupant’s shoulder until they groaned, turning over to look at the two of you. Of course, the boy you had just woken up also spoke in another language, which you were going to guess was Asian of some sort. The two exchanged some whispers, the boy who had been in the same room as you speaking in a more harsh tone than the other.

“Tell him, Seungkwan.”

“Sorry, what? I didn’t get any of that.” You replied, looking between the two of them. The boy in the bed had sat up to lean against the headboard. He sucked in the side of his cheek like he was contemplating something. He said ‘Seungkwan’ again, and by the small leap in your chest, you guessed that was your soulmate’s name. Whatever he said in the foreign language ended in a questioning tone, but all you could do was stare blankly.

“Do you know any Korean at the moment?” He asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.

You caught onto what he was doing and shook your head no while trying to contain your smile.

“Joshua, he’s playing.” The boy who still had your wrist whined.

“No,” Joshua replied, “his poor soul mate only speaks English.”

The other boy turned to look at you, suspicion in his eyes as they flitted over your face, analyzing. He said a few other words in Korean, and by the way Joshua covered his laugh you wondered if he had said something that Seungkwan would have laughed at. But all you could do was smile and shrug.

“So my best friend’s in your body, and no one in your house speaks Korean?”

You blanched at the realization, but Joshua reached forward to place his hand on your arm.

“It’ll be fine, Vernon, it’s for one day. Don’t freak them out.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, “but you’re spending the day with me and you’re going to learn everything there is to know about him before you switch back.”

You smiled, already getting an idea of how amazing your soulmate was. The moment was interrupted by another boy coming into the room, starting to say something in Korean but stopping when he saw you and Vernon standing around Joshua’s bed. He asked a question that Vernon responded to, and then continued his announcement from when he entered the room. He left with another glance at your trio, still confused.

“Well, scratch that idea, we have a V Live in an hour,” Vernon sighed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, “any ideas to how we’re going to get through this?”

Joshua stretched his arms, his shoulders clicking, “I would say just pretend Seungkwan’s sick, but that would get management involved, and we saw how they are about soulmates.” He looked over to you and your confused face, “What?”

“I don’t understand, what’s V Live, and why do you have management?”

Something flashed in Vernon’s eyes, “have you ever heard of KPop?”

“I’ve heard of it but I don’t listen to it…”

Vernon groaned loudly, “How are you two even soulmates?” You felt your heart drop. You pulled your wrist out of his grasp that felt like it was burning, pushing back the urge to cry as he avoided looking over to you.

“Vernon.” Joshua sat forward suddenly, “that’s not the biggest issue right now,” he turned to you, “we’ll tell the other boys what’s going on but we can’t tell management. They’re strict about soulmates and the body switching,” he swung his legs over the side of the bed and you moved back to let him get up.

“But you never answered my question.”

He smiled over at you, “Welcome to Seventeen, your soulmate’s a Kpop Idol.”

~

You had never felt this nervous in your life. Joshua told the other group members about your situation, and while some of them tried to offer you advice in English, none of them were as fluent as Joshua and Vernon. And Vernon was refusing to speak to you.

You were left to get ready by yourself since this was an informal camera event compared to something like a photo shoot. Everyone was treating you like a delicate bird, not saying anything to you when you entered the room but turning to each other and whispering when you walked past them.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Joshua had pulled you aside, “we’re doing a Q&A but the other boys know not to address any questions about Seungkwan today. We told management Seungkwan caught a cold from being outside yesterday, but they still expect you to be active. So you’ll just have to pretend to know what everyone’s saying. I’m sorry.” He offered a smile but it didn’t calm your nerves one bit.

“Will you sit next to me?”

“I can’t,” he shook his head, “they’re having us sit by age today, so you’re by Vernon and Dino,” he saw the anxiety that crossed your face, “it’ll be okay, you can get through this.”

You nodded. The managers called for everyone to take their seats, and Joshua squeezed your shoulder in encouragement. You took your seat, turning your gaze to the floor.

“I’m sorry, about what I said earlier.”

You looked up to see Vernon turned towards you, fiddling with his shirt. You clenched your jaw, hesitating to accept his apology. You knew that being on bad terms with your soulmate’s best friend would be stressful but he had practically said you weren’t good enough for him.

“Listen, Vernon,” he finally looked up to meet your gaze, “I want this thing to work out. But if you think there is someone better suited for Seungkwan, I trust your decision. You know him better than I do.”

He shook his head, “No, I was wrong. You’ve been incredibly patient and willing all day, and I don’t think we could have asked any more from you. I was quick to judge, and I shouldn’t have just assumed you and Seungkwan have nothing in common.”

You nodded, feeling your anger towards him subside. Some of the boys had yet to take their seats, but you knew the live stream would be starting soon. He seemed genuinely sorry, so you decided to accept his apology.

“It was in no means okay, but if you feel wrong in what you said, I think I can forgive you.”

“Thank you,” he sighed in relief, the tension dropping from his shoulders.

“Hey, Vernon, can I ask a favor?”

“Yeah, of course, anything.”

“Can you teach me how to speak some Korean?”


	12. Vernon

Vernon didn’t remember a lot about New York but he knew the sounds of the city like the music in his playlist. He hadn’t expected to wake up to the sound of a blaring car horn and several curse words yelled in a Brooklyn accent, but so it was. He sat up at the rude awakening.

Looking around he felt the panic rise in his throat, sending his mind into overdrive and making it more difficult to untangle himself from the sheets. His thoughts raced; this couldn’t be happening, this wasn’t real, someone was playing a cruel trick of some sort. Finally escaping the blankets, he tried to keep calm while surveying the room.

“Seungkwan? Dino?” He called out to his roommates but was met with silence. Another car horn blared outside followed by an angry shout. He began to pace around the room as more panic set in. A small note sitting on the nightstand caught his eye, stopping him cold in his tracks. His heart beat erratically at the paper he’d missed earlier as he stepped forward to retrieve it. The edges were wrinkled and wilted under his fingertips, like it had been picked up so many times before by the same hand.

He didn’t open it.

The muscles refused to cooperate, turned stubborn by the thick, black lettering on the front of the note:

To My Soulmate

He felt sick. He complied with being picked on and teased constantly by the other boys because none of it had been this personal. But this, they knew something as sensitive as the idea of soulmates was for him. This had gone too far.

He had to leave this room, this set, this place; whatever it was, it had begun to feel too small. He threw the note back on the bed without opening it and left the bedroom, pulling on the shoes that sat next to the door and the coat that was slung across the couch. Conveniently, a set of keys and a wallet already resided in the pockets, allowing him to leave without having to search.

He expected to see the other boys outside the doorway, in the hall, outside the building, but each time he turned a corner he was only met by a curious neighbor or no one at all.

He hadn’t planned on going anywhere but a sudden rumble of thunder and the slowly growing trickle of rain made him change his mind. He surveyed the street he was on and the storefronts, his attention being drawn to a small coffee shop nearby. He hurried inside and stepped to the counter, ordering a coffee and then taking a seat at a single table next to a window, near the back.

The mug was warm in his hands, the red ceramic providing comfort in this unusual situation. He continued to stare at New York through the window. People rushed by like schools of fish, those not carrying umbrellas weaving through the crowd to get away from the rain. He absently brought the drink to his lips again and welcomed the hot coffee that burned his tongue. It was time to decide what to do.

He couldn’t call his own cellphone; the long distance was too expensive, it was already midnight in Korea, not to mention the universe wouldn’t allow it. His fingers were anxious, tapping on the table beneath them. He caught an older woman’s eye and smiled apologetically.

He tried to look at the positives of the situation: the universe had handed him his other half against all odds and at least he spoke the native language. So why was he freaking out so much? The answer reared its ugly head in the back of his mind so he knocked back another drink of coffee to push it down. He played dumb to his conscious, ignoring the swish of truth that made his stomach stir.

He drained the rest of the coffee and took it to the barista at the counter. She took the mug back to the sink and called a ‘thank you’ over her shoulder when the coins Vernon put into the tip jar clinked against the glass. He was going to make sure at least one person in this busy city had a good day.

The cold rain stung his face but he pushed outside anyway. He started to walk aimlessly, allowing the crowd to push him around like a pinball. He didn’t want to go back to her apartment; it felt to cliche and his mind needed space to roam. Out here in the rain, being pushed around by fussy businessmen, he found himself returning to his thoughts from the cafe. His heart pulled in his chest. It was a feeling he had become reacquainted with all to well within the last three hours. He could feel the emotions toying around, dread and anxiety mixing together into some super emotion that threatened to come spilling out of him. He continued to walk.

The rain clung in drops to his hair but he kept walking. His clothes were drenched and he was walking closer to a cold with every block, but on he went, passing block after block with no clear destination. Under every emotion stirred guilt, of all things; guilt for possibly giving her hypothermia, guilt for putting her body in danger by walking against the crowd through crowded New York, guilt for not feeling immediate gratification for having switched bodies. Bitterness rose up his throat on finally bringing the last thought forward but he swallowed it down like coffee and continued.

His feet took him to Central Park, surprising him because he could only remember being there once before when he was younger. It was empty, save for a few people with umbrellas. Finding a small playground, he took a seat on a swing. The pain in his legs was a welcomed distraction. He gripped to the chain of the swing, holding tight on the metal that was slick with rain. The breath he was holding slipped out on its own accord and ended with a choked sob. He hadn’t planned on crying but something about sitting, drenched, in an empty park, in the body of someone he had convinced himself didn’t exist was too much when he accepted it all. The rain no longer mattered when the pressure behind his eyes became too much.

He had to face the truth. When it came to soulmates, his family was cursed. He was a token statistic, the product of two people who’d never been given soulmates and found each other through love instead of assignment. Biologically, it made sense that he and his sister would be given the same fate. But it didn’t work out that way.

When his sister, Sofia, was only 11, she switched bodies with her soulmate. Vernon hadn’t been there to be with his family but his mother had relayed the entire story to him over the phone: her soulmate had brain cancer and was nearing the end, the universe had to switch them before either of them were eighteen, Sofia would never get the chance to meet them in person. The force of two souls switching was too much for her soulmate.

Sofia woke up the morning after.

Her soulmate hadn’t.

Sofia was traumatized, to say the least. Depression wrapped around her shoulders like a mourning blanket, she refused to leave the house for days. Vernon was allowed leave from training to spend time with his family, banning any hope within himself for having a soulmate when the tears from his sister’s eyes left wet patches on his shirt sleeves.

He had almost left Seventeen right then and there. He couldn’t imagine going back to become an idol when the most important person in his world would be left at home, shattered under circumstances that statistically shouldn’t have occurred. When Sofia heard about this, though, she almost made herself sick convincing him to go back. She refused to let him give up his dream for her, practically pushing him back to Pledis herself. He kept going for her, locking the prospect of ever believing in soulmates deep in his heart.

But locking everything away hadn’t been enough. He had still woken up this morning as another person, someone who had been anticipating this switch, someone who took time to write him a note, someone who probably never doubted for a second that he existed.

He had to face the situation he’d pushed away for so long. Now he had options that he’d never considered possible, and he was terrified. He could run away and keep pretending that he was a lone half, but the idea seemed cruel now. He couldn’t just leave the girl he had only just come to know. Sofia wouldn’t have let him.

“She exists,” he whispered to the rain. He repeated the phrase again and again until it felt real and familiar, and he believed it.

“She exists and she’s real and she’s been waiting for this. For me. She was waiting…for me. And I’ve gone and left her out in the rain.”

He breathed out and his next breath was taken in with relief. The weather let up a moment later as if it had been following his breakdown and was now riding out the end with him. The downpour was now a sunshower. He wiped his face in a poor attempt to get the water off, not caring about finding out how much of a mess he looked like. The park was beginning to fill with more people. He stood, finally feeling bothered by the clothing suctioned to his skin. He began walking back the way he came, trying to ignore the sucking of his shoes on the pavement or the uncomfortable stares shot his direction by people who had no intentions of getting their clothes wet.

His stomach grumbled suddenly and he stepped into a nearby convenience store to pick something out. The clerk mumbled something about Vernon having trekked water into the store, so he picked out a towel while roaming the aisles. He had almost settled on a bag of chips when the candy display caught his eye and he was struck with an epiphany. He could hardly contain his excitement while he paid and the clerk bagged the Reese’s and the towel. The prospect of finally being able to eat peanut butter was enough to make returning to the apartment less daunting.

The apartment was more welcoming in the midday sun when he didn’t feel like he was suffocating. He shed the soaked coat and changed into clothes that weren’t dripping wet. He tenderly picked the note up again and took it into the living room with him. Once settled on the couch, he opened the candy bar and tentatively took a bite. The taste of peanut butter he had been denied so long ignited his tastebuds, sending him sinking back into the couch cushions.

He took another bite out of the Reese’s, looking over the black ink: To My Soulmate. The curled lettering that once scared him now sent hope through his bloodstream. He carefully opened the note and began to read.


	13. Chan

You were the one person Chan was never able to forget about. When the memories of his childhood began to fade, you always remained; days spent in the treehouse in his backyard, ice skating and hot chocolate over winter break, the smell of rain because you insisted on running in it instead of staying dry under the umbrella with him, birthday parties celebrated together because you were born only three days apart. He loved how easily you fit into his arms, the smell of your shampoo that lingered on his pillows after you’d left, the feeling of your skin under his fingertips whenever you two could find a moment to yourself, away from the prying eyes of the rest of the world.

They always said that you two were hopeless. You lived in a universe where love was ruled by fate and both his parents and yours were strict rule followers. He knew that your father wasn’t his fan. Even after Seventeen debuted and began to be recognized as a successful group, your father would continue to have his doubts and express them. It wasn’t like they mattered much to either of you anymore, though.

“I’m leaving for Seoul in a few days.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“Alright.”

Together, their relationship was torn apart by the seams the night after he had been recruited, both individuals taking the already frayed edges and forcing fragile fingers through the strings that had woven you together. There was yelling and tears and one broken glass on her part and that was Chan’s last memory of you: The girl he loved with tears cascading down her cheeks, struggling to pull her coat on with one hand while the other stayed cradled to her side, already dripping blood on the carpet. Oh how he so desperately wanted to erase that moment from existence and replace it with a scene from a rom-com where you exchanged goodbyes at the train station, where he could watch you wave to him from the platform instead of frozen in the doorway of his house because he didn’t know how to get you to come back and stay.

“Come back inside so I can give you a bandage and tell you how sorry I am,” The words had died in his throat, too afraid to yell over the rain in case his words drowned before they could get to you.

-

He hadn’t expected to switch so soon. It was still so close to his birthday that the cake Pledis had bought him was still in the fridge, the frosting having yet to crust over. The familiarity of the room he woke up in nagged at the back of his mind but he disregarded it as an aftershock to having switched places with his soulmate because of course Chan knew immediately. No amount of grogginess would allow for him to miss the cotton nightgown that replaced his sweatpants sometime in the night, though somehow he missed waking up in a room that he hadn’t woken up in since before Seventeen.

With the sudden realization that the house outside of the closed bedroom door was awake, he removed himself from the bed and softly padded to the door. He didn’t put in the concentration to realize that his hand had gripped this same doorknob before, though the last time he had it was moments before your father had burst into the room to demand what was going on between you two.

He tried to ignore the incessant nagging of deja vu that followed him as he passed picture frames in the hallway on his way towards the voices. He was starting to get an idea of what was going on but he was afraid to be too hopeful until he could confirm his suspicion. That confirmation came in the form of walking straight into someone.

“Oh, (Y/N), you’re up! Did you sleep well?” The woman smiling down at him sent memories carding through his head, how he’d ended up in this same position before in his own body when he’d turned a corner too fast.

“Woah, Chan, where’s the fire?” She had asked. He gave her a sheepish smile, feeling the hand she had placed on his arm pressing down into his skin.

“(Y/N) asked that I go get some snacks and water so we could keep studying,” he finally looked up to face the disbelief in her face.  
“Do you need anything else?” She pressed further.

“N-no,” he squeaked, “we’re alright.”

“Sweetheart?” The motherly tone brought him out of his flashback, “Is everything okay?”

“Mrs. (Y/L/N)?” The name slipped past his lips heavily, one he hadn’t spoken in ages. Her eyes widened curiously but she never let go of his arms.

“Oh, my,” her thin lips gave way to a small smile, “we weren’t expecting you this soon but it’s nice to have you dear,” she pulled him through the doorway they were stopped outside of, revealing the kitchen/dining room that he remembered.

“Wait,” he stopped her before she could call the attention of the rest of the family, specifically your father, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”  
“Oh, why not?” Her face held worry, “We’ve all been excited to meet you.”

He allowed his eyes to flicker over to where your father stood at the stove, “I’m not sure he approves of me.”

She was silent for a moment, realization flooding her face when the memories from years ago came back, “Chan?” Her voice was low and drew his attention back to her. He could only give her a slight nod. She wasn’t critical in her stare but the excitement from before was missing from behind her eyes. A louder voice interrupted their unspoken questions.

“Breakfast is ready, ladies,” your father had come up and swung his arms around Chan and your mother in a side hug, “why so tense? Did I miss something?”

Your mother cleared her throat, “Darling, this is (Y/N)’s soulmate.”

He stepped back in surprise but still threw out a hand towards Chan, “well, son, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Mr. (Y/L/N),” Chan swallowed, “before you make any impressions, I would like to say that I’ve changed and I would like to prove to you that I am a better man for your daughter than I once was.”

Your father’s face fell and was rebuilt into a clenched jaw and creased forehead, “What do you mean ‘once was’?”

“Honey,” your mother pressed into his side to bring his attention to her, “it’s Lee Chan. From next door.”

Once he had time to process everything, your father began to shake his head vigorously, “No, there’s been a mistake.”

“Sir, I’m sorry but I believe if I can prove to you-”

Your father reeled around and stepped close to Chan so his figure loomed intimidatingly over his smaller one.

“Return to your own house. We will discuss this tomorrow with (Y/N) but for as long as you’re switched, don’t pretend to be my daughter.”

Chan swallowed and ducked away from the man, hurrying out of the kitchen without another glance back. He grabbed her coat from the closet next to the door- the coat that still smelled like her after all of these years- and slid it over the nightgown. He hoped his parents were home as he threw the front door open but he knew the garage code if they weren’t. Your father’s shouts resonated behind him when the door closed. He shivered at the contact of his bare feet on the cold porch, wishing he had thought to bring shoes. It was only a short walk to his house next door, though, and the irritation and embarrassment from earlier was keeping him warm for the time being. Just as he was about to cross over into the realm and safety of his childhood home, a voice called from the house next door.

“Do you still miss her?” Your mother’s voice floated across the two yards, barely a whisper but still audible to focusing ears. Chan stopped on the last step on his own front porch but he didn’t have to think before replying.

“Every day.”


End file.
